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Pros & Cons Of Popular Web Development Platforms

So, you’ve made the decision to make your own website! Whatever venture you are starting, you have lots of popular web development platforms to choose from. Before you decide on one of the below platforms, you’ll want to determine your website’s focus. Are you aiming to sell products or services (e-commerce), write blog posts, share photos, or display your portfolio? Whichever category you fall into, keep that in mind when reading the pros and cons of four popular web development platforms: Weebly, WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.

Weebly

First up, we have Weebly! Weebly is one of the easiest platforms to use, but you are limited in your design and functionality options, especially when it comes to blogging. So if you are rather inexperienced with web design and coding and don’t need a complex website, this platform might be the best option for you.

Best for: Basic website building

Pricing: $0-25/month

Pros

1

Very user-friendly, drag & drop design features

2

Mobile responsive templates

3

Pre-designed page layouts

Cons

1

Design templates are basic

2

Limited template customization options

3

Blog features need improvement

WordPress

The go-to for every blogger: WordPress! WordPress definitely offers the most customizable options, especially when it comes to blogging. However, customizing your template can be expensive, may require plugins, and can be quite confusing if you’ve never coded before.

Best for: Bloggers

Pricing: Free!…but you have to get your own template and hosting

Pros

1

Very SEO-friendly

2

Flexible e-commerce options

3

Mobile friendly

4

Built-in blogging

5

Lots of template options (our fave 3rd-party template creator is Bluchic! Use code “BCYOU15: for 15% off any Bluchic theme!)

Cons

1

Not so easy to use; often need web developing skills

2

Custom themes can be tricky & expensive

Wix

According to the below chart, Wix is currently the most popular of the web development platforms, probably because of its ease of use. However, it can get a little pricey and its online shop platform isn’t exactly user-friendly.

Pros

Cons

1

Pricing: can get expensive depending on your needs

2

Templates can’t be changed

3

Not great for e-commerce

4

Large ads on the free version

5

Not the best for e-commerce

Squarespace

Similar to Wix, Squarespace makes it super easy to design a beautiful website. Squarespace is an excellent option if you want your website to look perfectly polished and clean, but getting to that point might be kind of confusing!

Best for: Portfolios, designers, weddings, e-commerce

Pricing: $12-18/month

Pros

1

Beautiful, easy to use templates

2

Every template is mobile-friendly

3

Lots of design and styling options

Cons

1

Separates the editing screen and the live preview screen

2

Adding, and dragging and dropping blocks can be buggy

3

The styling options might be overwhelming to the average joe

Becca is the Marketing Director for Bloguettes. On the side, she does photography and helps small businesses manage their social media. She is a huge fan of corgis, Nutella, and any good book.